Your Source for Up-To-Date News and Research on the Collision Repair Industry 

 

click here to subscribe to the FREE INSIGHT Editor's Desk News Alert Email

SUBSCRIBERS-ONLY
Today's News
INSIGHT This Month
INSIGHT Archives
Survey Center
Letter to the Editor

Business Tools
Subscription Information
CSI Reporting
Financial Analysis
IRS Audit Guide

Management/
Technical Info
Market Watch Rates
INSIGHT Inside this month's issue...

Feedback
Letter to the Editor

Who Pays For What?

Results from INSIGHT’s annual survey of P-Page reimbursements are here.

The results for INSIGHT’s 2011 “Who Pays for What?” survey, included in the January issue, are in. There are some interesting changes this year from last year.

The data from the returned surveys has been compiled into charts separated by the seven major insurance companies. The charts show payment for 36 of the most common non-included P-page items. How-ever, an overall average of the responses is also included for comparison.

The “never pay” percentage is the lowest ever since INSIGHT began the “Who Pays for What?” survey in 1997. In 1997, the overall “never pay” percentage was 51.3 percent. It dipped down to a low of 40.7 percent in 2007, but then shot back up the following year to 46.8 percent. In 2009, it went down again to 43.6 percent, and yet again in 2010 to 40.7 percent. However, none of these years can compare to this year’s “never pay” percentage of 34.7 percent. This makes the “never pay” percentage down 14.6 percent from last year, and down 32.3 percent from 1997.

The “sometimes pay” percentage has also gone down consistently since 2009. In fact, up until last year the overall “sometimes pay” average had been around 30 percent. However, 2010 marked the first year in a long time that the overall “sometimes pay” average went back down in the 20s. This year it went even lower than last year’s 26.6 percent. The overall 2011 “sometimes pay” percentage is 24.5 percent.

The “always pay” percentage is up this year. The average “always pay” is up to 40.8 percent. This is an improvement over last year’s “always pay” percentage of 32.7 percent, and a significant improvement over 2009. In 2009, the average “always pay” percentage was 25.1 percent, and in 2008 it was only 22.0 percent. These results make 2011 the highest “always pay” percentage year ever. It is worth noting that when INSIGHT first began this survey in 1997, the average “always pay” percentage was only 21.7 percent.

The “always pay” percentage is up for all the insurers this year except State Farm. State Farm’s “always pay” percentage has dropped from 44.4 percent in 2010 to 38.7 percent this year. State Farm, however, still did not report the lowest “always pay” percentage. Farmers with an “always pay” percentage of 32.4 percent, and Progressive with an “always pay” percentage of 37.2 percent were below State Farm’s average.

That being said, Progressive and Farmers have both improved their “always pay” percentages. Last year, Progres-sive had an “always pay” percentage of 24.0 percent, and the year before that it was 18.8 percent. Farmers had an “always pay” percentage of 26.1 percent in 2010, and 19.8 percent in 2009.

Other insurers that have improved their “always pay” percentages are Allstate, Nationwide, and most definitely USAA. Last year, Allstate had an “always pay” percentage of 35.5 percent and this year it went up into the 40s with an “always pay” percentage of 41.0 percent. Nationwide also went from the 30s to the 40s – 32.8 percent in 2010 and 43.3 percent in 2011. However, USAA must get the most improved award in this category. Last year, the insurer’s “always pay” percentage was only 27.1 percent, and this year it is the only insurer in the 50s, with a reported “always pay” percentage of 52.3 percent. This is quite an improvement.

Oddly enough, USAA showed the least improvement in this area last year. In 2010, its “always pay” percentage was 27.1 percent. This percentage was only up from 26.4 percent in 2009. Additionally, in 2009 USAA was second to only State Farm in this area. Then last year USAA was pushed back into fifth place by GEICO, Allstate, and Nationwide. Now in 2011, the insurer has the highest “always pay” percentage ever reported. It is even higher than the highest State Farm percentage in 2006 of 48.8 percent. USAA must read INSIGHT’s “Who Pays for What?” survey.

State Farm has dipped down several times over the years in its “always pay” percentages, but the insurer has always maintained a leading position. It has almost always made the overall average. However, this year, State Farm did not make the cut. The overall “always pay” percentage is 40.8 percent and State Farm’s “always pay” percentage is only 38.7 percent. State Farm is not alone though. Farmers (32.4 percent), GEICO (40.7 percent), and Progressive (37.2 percent) also did not make the cut.

This is why it is so completely strange that not one of the insurer’s CSI scores changed this year. Every single overall satisfaction score for each of the insurers is exactly the same as last year. How can this be? INSIGHT might have to do some further investigating. It does not seem right that USAA has gone from an “always pay” percentage of 27.1 percent to 52.3 percent, but still only has a CSI score of 65 percent. Allstate and Nationwide, the other two insurers to have above average “always pay” percentages, only received a 55 and 48 percent score, respectively.

Progressive, showing some improvement as well, still scored the lowest in the CSI department. Progressive has received a 41 percent CSI score the past three years. Its “always pay” percentage was 18.8 percent in 2009, and then 24.0 percent in 2010. Its “never pay” percentage was 52.6 percent in 2009 and 52.4 percent in 2010. Progressive’s “always pay” percentage is up to 37.2 percent this year. Its “never pay” percentage is down to 42.4 percent. However, the insurer has not improved its CSI score by one point.

On the contrary, State Farm’s “always pay” percentage is down this year from 44.4 percent in 2010 to 38.7 percent in 2011. However, the insurer, once again, holds the top spot in CSI scores with a score of 78 percent. This is down from its 2005 high score of 93 percent, but the insurer has maintained the 78 percent CSI score for three years straight now. The insurer is still the highest ranked of the seven insurers in spite of the fact that it now has a below average “always pay” percentage.

So here are 2011’s insurer p-page awards: The “Most Improved Award” goes to USAA. The insurer’s “always pay” has improved significantly this year. Its “never pay” percentage has dropped this year. The “Least Improved Award” must go to State Farm this year. This is one of the few years that State Farm has a below average “always pay” percentage. Usually the insurer is leading the pack. Not this year. Some type of “Honorable Mention Award” is due to Progressive this year. The insurer’s “always pay” percentage has gone up and its “never pay” percentage has decreased, but it still received the same old CSI score of 41 percent.   o

Feedback

Have a comment about this article? Send Email to Charles Baker, INSIGHT's Publisher

©2011 Collision Repair Industry INSIGHT
All Rights Reserved

FEATURED
LINKS:

INSIGHT Supports the NABC!
Do You?